In this time when operators are increasingly interested in quality and personalized customer experiences, Plume announced it is collaborating with ADTRAN (NASDAQ:ADTN) to integrate Plume's software suite into its hardware. ADTRAN has more than 750,000 customers globally and will offer Plume's Smart Home Services through its Mosaic Subscriber Suite.
With Plume, operators gain the workflow automation tools that offer the visibility that enables them to present a personalized customer experience, but also to remotely and proactively manage any issues before the customer is affected, said Tyson Marian, chief commercial officer, Plume.
"With today's environment, everything is under a magnifying glass," Marian said. "We have seen a massive uptick in adoption of Plume …. After the pandemic is over, customers are not going to change their minds. (Rather,) they are going to demand a lot more."
Plume's HomePass suite offers adaptive WiFi. This means that the home network is optimized to provide the best quality of experience for each device and each service.
"We want to make sure you have the best experience with your Apple Mac Pro built in 2014," Marian said. "We take all the information into account and give little highways back to the Internet to make sure you get the best quality of service."
Cybersecurity is part of the suite as well, in addition to Motion, which turns WiFi-enabled devices into sensors measuring RF waves to detect motion next to a device. From an enterprise perspective, the data can be collected from the device and utilized in workflow automation to solve customer issues both proactively and when someone calls in with a question. Marian said Plume can help deflect 50% of WiFi calls and enable an ISP to have "triple-play" churn rates on a single-play product. Triple-play - voice, video and Internet - customers have traditionally only had a 13-15% churn rate, where single-play has been higher.
"Every time a customer churns, it costs $2,000," Marian said. "Churn is extremely expensive."
ADTRAN's ISP customers will now be able to buy a subscription to the Plume cloud and utilize it as they see fit. This is Plume's first agreement with ADTRAN, but Marian said Plume already is integrated into 100 different types of devices today across manufacturers. Once the ISPs have the hardware and purchase the cloud subscription from Plume, they tend to leverage the Plume services via one of three different business models:
They offer consumers adaptive WiFi, motion, etc., perhaps along with some hardware for an incremental monthly fee.
They give away the services but charge an additional few dollars a month for gateway rental.
They promote their highest level broadband product by offering the extra services as part of the monthly fee for the highest tier package.
"(Ultimately) this is a great deal for Plume and ADTRAN. Selling globally dramatically expands Plume's reach," Marian said. "We are helping them deploy new services (so they) will get the chance to sell more hardware."
